Haunted
by Kenta Divina
Summary: Her life has no meaning but she can feel him watching. He comes with a final offer and she accepts. One-shot, dark and strangely insightful. Revised slightly.


Author's Note: Kinda hit me all at once to do a couple one shots

Author's Note: Kinda hit me all at once to do a couple one shots. I have no claim to Labyrinth or Evanescence. Enjoy!

Haunted

It was raining, just a light mist. The overcast sky darkened into the late afternoon, a warning for the upcoming storm. Rational human beings had returned home and were preparing a warm, well-lit dinner for their families. One defied that logic and wandered a grassy park alone, a simple gray t-shirt beginning to cling to a youthful body in the transition between childishness and adulthood. She ignored the threat of a summer cloudburst and let her fingers trail down the stone rail of a small bridge. Here is where it began.

_Long lost words whisper slowly to me_

Unseeing eyes watched the ripples on the water intermingle. All her past dreams seemed so small now. Her dreams which had been sacrificed for one who would probably never know. Gone with a phrase. Fragile as a glass sphere, cherished as a drop of water, gone in an instant like a bubble. She had saved her family, but what had she lost of herself in the process?

_Still can't find what keeps me here_

Turning her face to the sky, Sarah let the rain patter against her skin. It had been so long. The details were starting to fade in her memory. She could leave home at any time. Her family had no need for her anymore, she knew that Karen was simply waiting for her to move out on her own. Yet she stayed.

_When all this time I've been so hollow inside _

She had said that she needed her friends from that other world. She had woken from a heartwarming gathering to find her room deathly silent. It was a parting gift. She never called, and was never called in return. Now her childish possessions were packed away or fodder for future yard sales. Lancelot sat in an honorary and decorative position on her dark blue bedcovers. Her walls were sparsely papered with posters of plays and school events, but only in an attempt to deceive the casual observer. Her life had no real interest for her. Not since then.

_I know you're still there_

Sarah turned and wandered deeper into the woods on the park grounds. Wet hair tangled in clinging branches but she pulled away. The shriek of a bird made her turn and look up, but she saw nothing. She could still feel that power, sense inhuman strength stalking her every move.

_Watching me, wanting me_

Reaching a small cove among the trees, she paused. Closing her eyes, she whispered, "Where are you?"

Cold water pattering the leaves was the only answer.

_I can feel you pull me down_

If she concentrated hard enough, she could almost feel the warm, enchanted wind which had taken her away that time ago. She could almost remember the fascination in an ancient power, drawn to a fire which could utterly consume her mind. Remember those contradictions which were so frustrating, yet tenderly teaching. Some things were never said during those tests, but the ghosts of words remained in the air.

_Fearing you , loving you_

What he had asked of her made no sense, yet it was perfect. She had brought it upon herself. But she had repented - so that made it right... didn't it?

_I won't let you pull me down_

Sarah turned to leave the woods. For the first time in years, strong anger swept over her. Enough. It was enough. Gritting her teeth, she muttered, "Damn you Jareth."

Deep below, the King laughed.

_Hunting you, I can smell you - alive_

Smirking into a crystal, the Lord of the Underworld caressed the fair face of his rival. She was finally beginning to understand what she had given him. She may hate him for the loss of her ambitions, but she was still his. Love made her his, for that's the way it was done. Rage against it all she may, the ending would be the same. There was only one way for her dreams to return, the true meaning of her life to return, and it would be some time for her to accept it.

_Your heart pounding in my head_

He could feel her presence. He knew her emotions. Sarah, a spoiled child, a dreamer who could never belong in the dreary world of man. She was a bit of the Fae existence misplaced. How he had loved her when she spoke those fateful words. Loved her, and hated her in the same moment as his spell cracked. It would only be a matter of time now.

_Watching me, wanting me_

He knew of the true woman stirring within her as she challenged him. He knew that it had scared her into denial. What she read in books and plays had no place in truth. But it was all she could rely on as reality spun into fantasy. She had only one thing left inside her. With the woman closer to the surface now, it was his turn to act.

_I can feel you pull me down_

Sarah shivered in the quickly coming dusk. The rain had paused, but left her feeling damp, cold, and fiercely alone. She crossed the stone bridge one last time.

"Sarah."

She froze. Out of the shadows he came, graceful and full of power. His robes merged with the growing darkness. In his hand he held a black crystal. There was no fear, only threadbare exhaustion. She turned dull eyes to his face.

"I know what you want."

"Then give it to me."

She shook her head, arms clutching her body in an effort of protection. "It is over, I beat you, and now all I want is to live a normal life."

He took a step towards her, hand outstretched. "There is no normal life for you here. Whether you are in this world, or gone from it, no one will notice."

Sarah turned away from him. "Are you here for revenge?"

"You're real question should be 'Why is there a Labyrinth'."

"Then answer it."

"Because that is the way it is done."

The Goblin King's hand brought her back around to face him. Holding up the midnight crystal, he touched it to his lips, then handed it to her. The inky blackness swirled away and revealed the golden-hued labyrinth within. Sarah blinked.

"I don't understand."

Mismatched eyes bore into her. "It is your dream."

"But -"

"Sarah, you are not needed here, but there are others who would enjoy your company. I have the power to change the world for one. You just have to say the words."

The rain had begun once again, this time accompanied by thunder. It dared not touch the King, but once again began soaking into Sarah's clothing. For an endless moment they stood together on the stone bridge. She finally took the crystal and tossed it up into the air.

"I wish the Goblins would take me away right now."

_Saving me, Raping me_

Jareth smiled, his sharp white teeth easily visible in the semidarkness. He pulled her close, one gloved hand seizing her chin. His strange and captivating eyes full of triumph, he took her mouth with the aggression of one claiming authority. All other sensations faded as he plundered her lips. She had no time to respond before he released his hold. His hands on her shoulders violently pushed her backwards. She fell into night. The warm air whipped around her, but he never faded from her view. They were flying.

She landed on something soft and silky. Rolling over, she found herself pinned to what could only be a bed by strong hands. Looking up, she met Jareth's heated gaze.

_Watching me_

Before he could bend over her, dominate her, she jerked away. He only smiled. This was the one thing she had left - passion. It was the one thing which had capitvated him at the beginning. It made her worthy of his own selfish nature. Even without dreams, she would not change from the girl who defeated the Labyrinth. And that was exactly what he wanted.

Author's Note: Very dark, semi-suicidal, but I just had the random inspiration to write this, and it was the only way to end in satisfaction. Take it where you will, but I hope it was successful. I've been rather depressed in my personal life lately, so this is a kind of venting.


End file.
